Sunday, May 2, 2010

Ahoy

I'm back, and I'm exhausted. It's been such a busy couple of weeks, and here are the products of my hard work: a blanket, a cake and a hat. Of course this only symbolises what has been happening in our house: a 5th birthday, followed by two birthday parties with cakes, and tomorrow a 3rd birthday and the first day of school.

So without further ado, the blanket:

I spent quite a few nights working under cover of darkness to finish this, and I'm pleased to report Daniel really loves it. It's made with a NZ wool op shop blanket and I used only fabrics that I had in my stash (all wool as well). In fact, I didn't buy anything to make this, the cotton was also in my stash. Here's Venus:

And my favourite, Saturn:Jupiter:And Earth with our moon:I just have to show off the pirate birthday cake too. Let's just be clear that I am really bad at icing cakes, so I normally rely heavily on props. This year I've added jelly to my repertoire. The rocks are Big Bugs 'n Mud (cereal, not insects), the sand made of shortbread crumbs. And it was really delicious. Finally, Joshua's hat. What a nightmare. Love the wool, the design, the fact that it knits up in one evening, but the pattern really had me cursing. It's the Fair-Isle helmet by Sirdar, using their wool too. I tried the smallest size (4-6), which looked like a pixie hat. This is the adult size, and it just fits Joshua, age 3. I've got the right gauge, the right yarn, bigger needles than they recommend; what have I done wrong?! Oh well, the boy likes it, which is more important than his mother's annoyance, right?

And now I have to go and prepare myself for Daniel's first day of school. He seems fine; don't know about myself though...

You are such a talented lady and I love reading your blogs. Makes me think what I can make. The blanket is really great and has inspired me, because i have a few wool blankets and candlewick bed spreads.